The subject line/first line of a commit description should be an action. Instead of being passive - such as "changes x to y" - it should be active, as in "change x to y".
The beginning paragraphs of the commit message should describe what the patch does. They should describe everything that was changed, the benefits, the potential drawbacks, and the reasoning for making the change.
For each bug fixed/issue addressed, a line saying "Fixes: #BUGNUMBER" should be used. For instance, if issues 31 and 35 are being resolved:
Fixes: #31
Fixes: #35
If someone else wrote the patch with you, credit them as such:
Co-developed-by: Person's Name <[email protected]>
If someone reviewed the patch, use Reviewed-by; if they just
acknowledged it exists, use Acked-by:
Reviewed-by: Reviewer's Name <[email protected]>
Acked-by: Acker's Name <[email protected]>
To use Reviewed-by, the person must have given their consent for you to use it. They can do this by replying to a patch with the Reviewed-by line you would use.
If you want to make sure someone sees the patch, use Cc:
Cc: Important Person <[email protected]>
If someone else tested the patch for you:
Tested-by: Tester's Name <[email protected]>
If the patch came from someone's suggestion:
Suggested-by: Suggester's Name <[email protected]>
Finally, the last line of the patch should be a signoff:
Signed-off-by: Your Name <[email protected]>
By using Signed-off-by, you are agreeing to the Developer's Certificate of Origin.